Boiler grants: what you can actually get
ECO4 ends in December 2026, the Warm Homes Plan replaces it, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme still does not pay for a gas boiler. Who really qualifies, and what to do if you don't.
Updated 23 August 2026 · 2 min read
There are grants. Most people asking about them don't qualify, and a lot of what you'll read online is written by companies who make money from the ones that do. Here's the plain version.
ECO4 - ending 31 December 2026
The Energy Company Obligation. Energy suppliers are required to fund efficiency improvements for low-income and vulnerable households. It can cover a boiler replacement in full.
You generally need to be on qualifying benefits, and your home usually needs a poor energy rating. Your energy supplier is the place to start, not a company that's cold-called you about it.
The scheme is now in its final stretch. ECO4 was due to end in March 2026, was extended by nine months in January 2026, and closes for good on 31 December 2026. The government has confirmed there will be no successor obligation on suppliers after that. If you think you qualify, start the conversation now rather than next year: obligations fill up as a scheme closes, and December is closer than it sounds.
What replaces it: the Warm Homes Plan
From 2026 the government's route is the Warm Homes Plan, a publicly funded programme that takes over from the supplier obligations. For low-income households the live scheme within it is the Warm Homes: Local Grant, which runs through councils and can fund insulation and heating improvements.
Because it is delivered council by council, the practical first step is your own local authority's website, not a company advertising the scheme. The same warning applies as ever: nobody legitimate cold-calls you about a grant.
Source: GOV.UK, Warm Homes Plan
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme
Worth understanding because the name misleads people. It does not pay for a new gas boiler. It pays towards a heat pump or a biomass boiler, as a grant of several thousand pounds.
If you're replacing gas with gas, this scheme is not for you. It is, though, here to stay: the Warm Homes Plan confirms its funding through to 2030, so if a heat pump is on your maybe list, the support will still be there when you're ready.
Be careful who you talk to
Boiler grants attract a lot of cowboys, because the funding is real and the paperwork is confusing. Nobody legitimate will cold-call you about a grant, and nobody legitimate needs your bank details to check eligibility.
Check with your own energy supplier, or GOV.UK, and go from there.
If you don't qualify
Most people don't, and that's the ordinary outcome. Compare quotes, look at finance if you need to spread it, and get the most efficient boiler you can afford. The savings on your bills are the grant.